This course is accredited by the following professional bodies:

• Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE)
• Energy Institute

We have been running courses for the Building Services Engineering Industry since 1947.

What is Building Services Engineering?

Building Services Engineering covers pretty much everything you can think of in a building – all the things that make it safe, comfortable and functional. This includes both big and small buildings, and deals with everything from making sure the floodlights at Old Trafford don't cut out halfway through the match to developing homes that can generate their own sustainable sources of gas and electricity. Building Service Engineers help buildings to deliver on their potential.

Course overview

LSBU has over 60 years expertise in running Building Services Engineering courses and it produces around 50% of graduates in the industry. Our BEng (Hons) course is designed to equip you with the technical, management and communication skills needed to be an effective leader of teams involved in the design of building services and energy conservation in buildings.

UK buildings are currently responsible for about 50% of the country's total energy consumption and CO2 emissions. Energy conservation and sustainability therefore form an increasingly important theme in our courses.

First year modules provide the fundamental scientific principles that support the mechanical and electrical building services and also provide an introduction to the basic heating and ventilation systems.

Second year modules provide more in-depth study of the systems used in building services such as air conditioning, refrigeration and electrical services, their operation and control. In the final year emphasis is on sustainability. You'll take modules covering the topics of dynamic thermal performance of buildings, energy resources, combined heat and power, wind power generation and lighting, electrical systems and distribution.

A specialisation option is offered in the final year between a mechanical and an electrical route. Design projects are used to produce a simulated work environment where the taught material is applied. Computer modelling techniques are taught and used in the design projects where optimisation techniques are investigated.

Value of a BEng programme

As a BEng programme, this course encourages you to acquire a deeper understanding of the essential facts, concepts, theories and principles of mechanical engineering and its underpinning science and mathematics. These core mathematic, scientific and management skills are needed to meet the requirements of Chartered Engineer status. Many recruiters will look favourably on BEng graduates for this reason.

Placement in industry

You are encouraged to break your academic studies and take an industrial placement in your third year (Sandwich Course). During this placement you can start to put your newly acquired skills into practice. This is an opportunity to understand the way industry functions and to gain an appreciation of the priorities of the commercial environment.

The BEng (Hons) course combined with a further postgraduate study, such as an MSc, offers an accredited route towards Chartered Engineer status.

Course modules

Year 1

• Engineering principles
• Design and practice
• Engineering mathematics and modelling
• Mechanical services for buildings

Year 2

• Advanced engineering mathematics and modelling
• Design applications
• Electrical installation, distribution and lighting
• Energy control and management
• Project management
• Thermofluids, air-conditioning and refrigeration

Year 3

• BEng design project
• Design analysis
• Energy resources
• Innovation and enterprise

And

• Noise and vibration control - or
• Power systems and design - or
• Energy systems

And

• Building acoustics - or
• Heat transfer in building services engineering - or
• Systems for environmental services and lighting

Employability and academic progression

This course will prepare you for a career in the building services engineering industry in areas such as: design and build; contracting; consultancy; energy management; and facilities management.
The course will enable you to develop a wide range of employability skills through: the emphasis on a vocational approach to teaching; and close links with industry.
If you choose to take the (optional) sandwich year, where you gain valuable experience in the industry, your employment prospects will improve further.
 
The employment record is of this course is excellent as the demand for qualified building services engineers outstrips the supply, partly due to the recent European Directive on energy savings, brought about by the climate change.
We run a very active and well utilised careers page on our virtual learning environment (VLE) to provide both a shop window for employers seeking recruits and trainees and links to major external recruitment agencies.
We also facilitate employer recruitment visits on campus, and provide advertising for graduate recruitment open events at company offices.
 
Recent graduates from this course have gone onto jobs such as: Estimator, Quantity Surveyor and Contracts Manager.

If you graduate from this course, you will be able to apply for further study at postgraduate level, including for a place on our full-time or part-time MSc Sustainable Energy Systems or MSc Environmental and Architectural Acoustics.

If you combine your BEng (Hons) Building Services Engineering combined with an accredited Masters, you can achieve Chartered Engineer status.

LSBU is committed to supporting you develop your employability and succeed in getting a job after you have graduated. Your qualification will certainly help, but in a competitive market you also need to work on your employability, and on your career search. Our Employability Service will support you in developing your skills, finding a job, interview techniques, work experience or an internship, and will help you assess what you need to do to get the job you want at the end of your course. LSBU offers a comprehensive Employability Service, with a range of initiatives to complement your studies, including:

• direct engagement from employers who come in to interview and talk to students
• Job Shop and on-campus recruitment agencies to help your job search
• mentoring and work shadowing schemes.

Professional and industry links

Close links are maintained with industry to ensure that our course is up-to-date with the needs in industry.

Professional accreditation

This course is accredited by the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE). Current Engineering Council regulations enable BEng(Hons) graduates to apply for Incorporated Engineer status.

Accreditation is a mark of assurance that the degree meets the standards set by the Engineering Council in the UK Standard for Professional Engineering Competence (UK-SPEC).

Value of professional accreditation

An accredited degree will provide you with some or all of the underpinning knowledge, understanding and skills for registration as an Incorporated (IEng)and with further study and work experience Chartered Engineer status (CEng).

Some employers recruit preferentially from accredited degrees, and an accredited degree is likely to be recognised by other countries that are signatories to international accords